Freshlight Hair Dye: Melty Cherry Review

I thought I was going to die just hours into my birthday because of this dye's fumes! Yes, I was dying my hair when the clock struck midnight, marking the beginning of my 21-year-old years. I began my 21st by dying my hair with Freshlight's Melty Cherry foam dye.

Originally I wanted to try out Rose Macaron because it was a lighter pink, but unfortunately it appears that Korea does not sell it. I've tried browsing numerous Olive Young and Watson branches in Seoul, before I dyed it and even after dying it, but still I can't find it. I think the Korean market prefers having medium/darker hair colours, and if they really wanted a light colour it would be blonde.
At one point I was searching up other brands' reviews online, one of them being Palty's foam dye. I was deliberating between the Palty's Raspberry Jam and Freshlight, but chose the latter in the end because people online had said that Palty foam tends to fizzle out quickly and you are left dealing with a pile of gloop when you're halfway through application. In Korea, they only sell Beautylabo, Palty, and Freshlight dyes from Japan. Beautylabo had mediocre reviews also. I also ventured into looking at Korean foam dyes, but reviews online were limited and I never heard anything special about Korean foam dyes anyway. Plus, a Korean friend did NOT recommend trying out the Mise en Scene Hello Bubble dyes since they dried out her hair big time.

Before: forgot to take proper before pics, so we're gonna have to make do with recent selcas!

My hair had been previously dyed with John Frieda's Extra Light Ash Blonde in early August. I have also dip dyed the tips with La Riche Directions Semi Permanent hair dye (I will post a review on this soon).

So, just like Prettia the mixing of the solution is pretty easy. Pour small colourant bottle into larger developer bottle, tilt a couple of times to mix, unscrew cap, change it with the pump and you're ready to go.

As mentioned before, the fumes were overpowering. I was applying it in the shower cubicle with the door closed. Despite having the fan/vent on, I still ended up choking mid-way through. So I ended up opening the cubicle door to let more air in, which consequentially ended up making my room smell like hair dye.
The application process was just like Prettia, no hassle, stiff foam that doesn't disintergrate, and easy. Upon finishing I covered it all up in an old shower cap. I was too lazy to blow heat into it.

After leaving it in for 1 hour 30 minutes, I jumped in to the shower to wash the gunk off with slightly cold water along with my L'oreal EverPURE shampoo, and followed up with the conditioner satchet provided. Unlike Prettia, my hair didn't feel sticky/tacky after it dried - the past few times I dyed my hair with Prettia it always left it feeling tacky for some reason... Although it didn't feel super soft and moisturised, it wasn't dry either.

After: hair under natural light

After: hair under artificial white light

The colour result was disappointing. I expected the results to turn out similar to Prettia's Cassis Berry, a lovely rich reddish brown, but instead it ended up looking like I dyed my hair with any old brown warm-toned colour that lacked any sort of noticeable red/pink hue. Maybe I am really desperate to believe that the product worked somewhat, but I think there is in fact a tiny bit of a pinkish hue to the brown roots. Do inform me if I am in fact being a tad delusional. But then again it's hard to tell on the picture since I am using my phone camera. You just have to see my hair in real life to know. Then again, I have noticed that my pink tip-dyed ends have become more noticeably pink-er. Unfortunately the phone camera taken photos fails to show this...
What was even more disappointing is that it hardly changed my hair colour at all, and I'm talking about the pre-dyed part that has been lightened to a really light brown for years. The colour only turned a tad warmer, but that's it. No colour change. It looked more like I had dyed my roots instead. Luckily the roots were dyed a medium-light brown as a result, although the transition between the roots and dyed hair isn't perfect, it will do.

I am going to consider the fact that I didn't apply heat when I dyed my hair, because I usually do. Heat/warmth is what I consider to be a vital part of hair dying, since it increases the rate of chemical function. Although I covered the dye job with an old shower cap, I didn't blow heat with a dryer into it. Additionally, I had to open my window in order to let the fumes out, which conversly let the cold air in - it was snowing in Seoul around that time. Despite not sitting near the window most of the time, the room did get pretty cold.
Perhaps this is why the colour never turned out properly... 


Pros

• Foam stays and doesn't liquidify
• Mixing and application method is just like Prettia
•  Hair doesn't feel dry post-dying

Cons

• The fumes are strong
• Tad minimal effect on dyed hair
• Pink/red hue did not show

Result:
2/5 ★★☆☆☆
I expected so much from this since it's a brand under Schwarzkopf. Having handled Schwarzkopf dyes before on my parents' hair, I know the brand offers really nice vibrant colours that, unfortunately, stains your towels and fades over time. But no, it did the exact opposite where it did not give me any sort of colour at all.
However, I shall be lenient and be open to trying out another Freshlight colour in future that is not from the pink/red hue range. Most preferrably in a warmer location/season as well so the chemicals can work at its optimum.
So in conclusion, I would not be repurchasing nor recommending Freshlight Melty Cherry, you're better off buying Prettia's pink dyes like Cassis Berry.